Meet our CORE team
We hope you find that our core team’s extensive leadership, coaching experience, and specialized expertise align with your needs. Our diverse backgrounds and deep knowledge allow us to offer a wide range of impactful workshops and creative retreats. While additional professionals support our workshops, the Core Team represents the think tank behind Empowered.
-5e05ec9.jpg/:/cr=t:0%25,l:16.68%25,w:66.64%25,h:100%25/rs=w:1209,h:1209,cg:true)
Dr. Emily Daigle, Founder of Empowered, M.A. Ed., OTR/L, RYT
Dr. Emily Daigle’s career is rooted in a simple belief: meaningful experiences, authentic connections, and opportunities to contribute are essential to learning and growth at every stage of life. With more than 25 years of experience in occupational therapy, special education, leadership, wellness, and systems change, Emily has dedicated her work to creating inclusive pathways for children, families, and communities.
Beginning her career in behavioral health and pediatric occupational therapy, Emily discovered her passion for helping neurodivergent learners access meaningful education, build independence, and prepare for adulthood. Her work in special education, curriculum development, and district leadership has focused on designing programs that honor individual strengths while creating opportunities for success.
As an educational leader, Emily has led innovative initiatives that bring together schools, families, community organizations, and agencies to build stronger support systems for learners and families. She believes in a “village” approach—collaboration across systems to identify needs, remove barriers, and create opportunities for growth.
Through Empowered, Emily continues this work by supporting caregivers, strengthening families, and developing inclusive programs that promote connection, wellness, and independence. Her workforce development initiatives extend this mission into adulthood, using an agriculture-based lens to create authentic, hands-on learning experiences for transition-age students and individuals with disabilities. Through farm-based learning, hospitality, food service, animal care, and community partnerships, Emily works to build pathways that connect individuals with their strengths, develop employability skills, and increase access to meaningful employment. She partners with employers and community organizations to design more inclusive workplaces that leverage neurodivergent talent, embrace diverse ways of thinking and working, and create environments where individuals can contribute, grow, and thrive.
Emily’s doctoral research explored the relationship between caregiver well-being and child outcomes, reinforcing her belief that when we support the whole person—individuals, families, educators, and communities—we create lasting change.
When she is not building programs or connecting communities, Emily can be found outdoors with her family—exploring, gardening, learning, and creating spaces where people feel they belong.
Education
-Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership
(SEAL Program: Social, Emotional, and Academic Leadership) – Sacred Heart University
-Certificate of Advanced Studies, 6th Year Administration – Sacred Heart University
-Master of Arts in Comprehensive Special Education – University of Saint Joseph
-Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy – University of New Hampshire
Professional Certifications & Training
✔ Intermediate Administration and Supervision (092)
✔ Comprehensive Special Education, K–12 (165)
✔ Licensed & Registered Occupational Therapist (OTR/L)
✔ Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT)
✔ Person-Centered Planning (MAPS/PATH Facilitator)
Empowered by play, learning, connection, and possibility—Emily is committed to creating inclusive pathways where individuals and communities thrive.
Lisa Helvie, M.S., CCC-SLP
Lisa is a dedicated speech-language pathologist committed to fostering communication, learning, and social-emotional growth in children. With nearly two decades of experience in public schools as an SLP from pre-k through post-high school (and all grades in between), Lisa specializes in supporting students with speech articulation challenges, language delays, pragmatic speech differences, autism spectrum disorders, fluency issues, and cognitive impairments. She designs individualized education plans (IEPs) that integrate speech and language development with classroom learning, ensuring that every child receives tailored support.
Passionate about inclusive practices, Lisa pioneered a Flexible Service Delivery model, blending traditional therapy with in-classroom collaboration to enhance generalization of skills. Her leadership extends to professional development, where she has trained educators, paraprofessionals, and families on best practices in speech-language intervention and social-emotional learning (SEL). She played a key role in implementing Social Thinking® programs across all grade levels and developing district-wide SEL curricula.
Lisa holds multiple advanced degrees in communication sciences, deaf education, and educational leadership, equipping her with a comprehensive approach to student success. An award-winning professional, she is known for her collaborative spirit, creative lesson planning, and unwavering advocacy for children with diverse learning needs.
Andrea Hernandez, M.S. Ed., M.S. CCC-SLP
With 19 years in education and 11 years as a practicing Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) in Connecticut’s public school system, Andrea brings a deep understanding of both classroom instruction and speech-language development.
She began her career as an elementary bilingual Spanish/English teacher in NYC through the NYC Teaching Fellows while earning her Master’s in Education. In 2011, she returned to Connecticut to pursue a Master’s in Speech and Language Pathology, where she found her passion for assessing and supporting bilingual learners.
Andrea has a broad range of experience in speech-language pathology and specializes in:
✅ Differentiating bilingual language differences from disorders, ensuring diagnostic evaluations are comprehensive, unbiased, and respectful of second language development.
✅ Dyslexia evaluations, articulation therapy, phonological speech sound disorders, receptive and expressive language therapy, fluency, and supporting neurodivergent learners.
💡 Her superpower? Asking the right diagnostic and targeted questions that lead to better programming for students during PPTs. She firmly believes that there is no better advocate for a child than an educated parent.
Education
🎓 Master of Science in Communication Disorders- Southern Connecticut State University
🎓 Master of Science in Education- Mercy College
🎓 Bachelor of Arts – International Relations and Economics
Pam Harrison, Educational Psychologist
Pam is a dedicated school psychologist with over 25 years of experience supporting students and families. She has worked with individuals from preschool through age 22, supporting students in transition programs as they prepare to launch! Throughout her career, Pam has been especially passionate about working with students on the Autism Spectrum.
As part of her professional development, Pam completed the Social Thinking Mentor training and has applied this expertise by facilitating Social Thinking groups for school-aged students. She has also trained teachers, paraprofessionals, and related service providers in implementing Social Thinking methodologies effectively.
In addition, Pam has coached educators and parents in the use of practical Executive Functioning strategies. She works collaboratively with students to develop individualized organizational systems that support their unique strengths and needs.
Pam holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology with minors in Sociology and Education from Ursinus College. She earned her Master of Science in School Psychology and Sixth-Year Certificate from Southern Connecticut State University.
Real Parents. Real Stories. Real Support.
Parent Advisors: The Heart of Empowered
Our Parent Advisors are core members of the Empowered Team. Their lived experiences raising children bring authenticity, wisdom, and relatability to everything we do. You’ll often find them sharing their stories, insights, and hard-earned lessons as part of our workshops and retreats.
At Empowered, we believe in learning from each other—celebrating the wins, laughing at the cringeworthy parenting moments, and growing together as a community. Parenthood is a journey, and the best parents are lifelong learners. While the path may change, we have the power to adapt, evolve, and thrive—together.
Real Parents. Real Stories. Real Support
Erin McCormick
Erin McCormick is a devoted and loving mother of a child diagnosed with multiple disabilities, a role that has changed her perspective on life, parenting and advocacy. When her daughter was first born there was much uncertainty about her daughter’s life expectancy and her cognitive and developmental needs. Her days became filled with medical and therapy appointments and she placed her faith in the experts in their respective fields. It was not until her daughter was given a misdiagnosis that her perspective shifted. She came to the belief that her and her daughter’s father were the true experts of their daughter and vowed to always listen to her instincts. Today Erin is a strong advocate for her daughter leading with compassion, dedication and integrity. She is a skilled negotiator working hard to avoid bureaucratic obstacles and promote collaboration to ensure her daughter’s needs are met in educational and social settings.
Erin is also passionate about supporting families who have special needs children. She is always happy to share her own personal experiences of navigating education and health care systems and provides the strategies that helped her along the way. She is a compassionate listener, often a cheerleader of victories and empathetic when obstacles occur. Erin instills in families that they are not alone on this journey and she is there to support them. Erin is also dedicated to raising awareness of disabilities and ensuring that all children have access to an inclusive and supportive environment.
Kirsten Ferguson M.A. Ed.
As a single mom raising two young daughters with severe disabilities, Kirsten struggled to maintain her teaching career while balancing the needs of her own children. Meeting with teachers, working with therapists, and navigating appointments with many different doctors—all while advocating to get her girls the support they needed—was, at times, overwhelming.
Inspired by the amazing teachers and therapists working with her daughters, she decided to go back to school for a master’s degree in special education, specializing in early childhood development. When her daughters were five and eight years old, Kirsten partnered with a software engineer, and together they developed a communication app for the iPad. Originally designed specifically to give Autumn and Ava a voice, So Much 2 Say was eventually released on the App Store.
Kirsten remarried in 2010 (to the handsome software engineer), and they have since welcomed two more children into their family. Although Autumn and Ava are now adults, Kirsten continues to work tirelessly to ensure they receive the services and support they need to live fulfilling lives.
With over 20 years of experience navigating early intervention services, school systems, hospital systems, and government agencies, Kirsten has learned the value of providing caregivers with a broad social network, effective resources, respite, and opportunities for self-care. She also recognizes the need to engage and support siblings and other family members of individuals with disabilities, whose needs are often unmet due to the demands of caring for a family member with significant disabilities.
Kirsten is proud to have partnered with Emily Daigle and the Empowered team, sharing this vision of supporting individuals with disabilities by empowering their caregivers.